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Tsuruko Aoyama
Tsuruko Aoyama (青山 鶴子 Aoyama Tsuruko) is Motoko Aoyama's elder sister and the one currently entrusted with the keeping of their family's dojo; the Shinmei-ryu school of swordsmanship. As she is not expected to be active in running the school, having given up the life of the sword for marriage, it is her duty to hand the school over to Motoko when she is ready. Appearance Possessing a somewhat eccentric personality, Tsuruko is ethical and tolerant, to a point. She was brought up to follow traditional Japanese morals of the warrior class; meaning to follow obligation, politeness and duty. As a result she seems to be somewhat naive to the “ways of the modern world”, even more so than her sister and is relatively easy to fool. Her righteous temper is perhaps what makes her dangerous, able to intimidate that strongest of individuals while still appearing pleasant. Her appearance and clothing resembles that of traditional Japan, often only seen wearing her hakuma during Shinmei-ryu affairs, though she does sometimes wear more modern clothing. Her hair, too, is usually just worn straight in a traditional Japanese cut. Tsuruko is strong willed and difficult to sway when she has made up her mind. Her knowledge and skills with the Shinmei-ryu arts are unparalleled; being one of the most powerful swordswomen in the style’s history. Despite possessing a “tough love” outlook where her sister is concerned, Tsuruko has Motoko's best interests at heart and her only real wish is for her sister to be happy on whatever path she chooses to walk. Plot Manga Born into a family of legendary demon-slayers, Tsuruko, like Motoko, was brought up to one day take over the business and became one of the most powerful practitioners in the school’s history. When Tsuruko began leaving for missions she gave her favourite sword, the Shisui, to Motoko as a parting gift. Years later Tsuruko would become engaged to a fellow warrior and Motoko, upset with her sister’s decision, left the dojo to live elsewhere during her days at school. Years later Tsuruko pays a sudden, unannounced visit to Hinata House to bring Motoko back to the Shinmei-ryu dojo and take over the family business. Thinking herself unprepared, Motoko lies in order to avoid going; resulting in Tsuruko discovering the deception and punishing Motoko by breaking Shisui and disowning her. As Motoko falls into despair, Tsuruko convinces Keitaro Urashima to help Motoko defeat her, thusly reclaiming her right as part of the Aoyama family, however if they were unable to defeat her she would force Keitaro to marry Motoko to make up for his part in the lie. Giving her the Hina: The Ominous Blade to replace Shisui, Keitaro accompanies Motoko to Kyoto to begin challenging Tsuruko. With Naru becoming involved in the incident, she became possessed by the Hina blade during Motoko and Tsuruko’s final bout. When Motoko managed to seal the blade without harming Naru or Keitaro she redeemed herself in Tsuruko’s eyes and she was allowed to continue studying and living in the Hinata Apartments. Tsuruko would eventually pay Motoko another visit, this time running on a presumption that Motoko had passed the Tokyo University entrance exams; due to Motoko not telling her about it. Fearful of her reaction should the truth be revealed, Motoko continued with the lie while desperately studying to pass the coming mock exam, however, as before, Tsuruko eventually discovered the truth and engaged her sister in another duel; defeating her again. Opting to cut herself off from troubling influences and distractions, Motoko attempted to abandon everything and become a nun but Keitaro didn’t let her go. Instead he insisted that she continued studying, unaware of her feelings towards him. Eventually, Motoko relented and decided to face her problems; be they physical, educational or emotional, instead of burying or abandoning them. During a rematch against her sister she admitted her feelings towards Keitaro, finally defeating her sister in the process. As a reward Tsuruko gave Motoko her blessings and her pet crane, Shippu, before returning to Kyoto. Anime Concept Gallery File:FinalMotokoTsuruko.jpg|Motoko and Tsuruko's concept art for the epilogue Gallery Tsuruko 1.jpg AniTsuruko.jpg Tsuruko_transform.png| File:TsurukoGroup.jpg| File:TsurukoMotoko.jpg| File:Marriage.jpg| Other Appearance Negima! Magister Negi Magi *Tsuruko makes an appearance in a flashback in chapter 303 teaching Setsuna Sakurazaki about the Hina Blade (having presumably loaned it from the Urashima Family for the lesson). During the lesson she accidently becomes possessed by the blade and runs riot. *It is rumored by fans that the taller of the two Shinmei-ryu representatives in Chapter 30 of Negima! Magister Negi Magi might be Tsuruko, with the shorter woman being Motoko. The girls were bringing Setsuna Sakurazaki, a young practitioner of the school, to the Kansai Magic School to be Konoka Konoe’s private bodyguard. Trivia *Tsuruko’s sword is a nodachi katana; a sword usually twice as long as a normal katana that was traditionally used in combat against horsemen in ancient Japan. *Though she is one of the most powerful practitioners in the school’s history, Tsuruko believes Motoko’s potential surpasses her own. *Tsuruko possesses a pet crane named "Shippu", which she later gives to Motoko after Motoko finally defeats her in a duel. Category:Characters